Considering that MSO documents make up the brunt of documents used in education and business; it might be a good idea to change the default office suite to something that works better with said documents.

But to what? Well... I have a few ideas.

If WPS Office is willing, maybe Netrunner OS can use WPS Office as the default.

Failing that, there's the route PeppermintOS went with using Google's office suite.

7th July 2014, 6:23 Edited(This post was last modified: 7th July 2014, 6:29 by AJSlye.)

Just my personal thoughts and NOT those of Netrunner or Blue Systems, etc.

WPS Office - licensing issues and not popular enough to be default.
Google Office - Online Application / Security Issue for many corporations/businesses (like mine), and for many users not an option for default.
Quip - see Google Office

Personally, I say leave an Office suite out and let the user decide between LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Calligra, or what ever else they prefer, including MS Office under wine.

I was thinking the same. I think Calligra is amazing, it's fast, and doesn't require you to use Java to run it. However, it would require a lot of work to make it behave and feel more like MS Office / LibreOffice. I love using Calligra Word, but the toolbars get in my way on smaller screens, it's kind of irritating. That aside, it opens up fast, and "just works". Also it's part of the KDE ecosystem. I personally believe that given a little love Calligra could in fact become a powerful toolset for Linux, but again it needs more attention that it's probably not getting. Up next would be KDevelop, but that's a complain for another thread / discussion.

Really, Calligra works nicely, I haven't fully tried the other versions, but I don't feel like I'm using a sluggish program, though it feels incomplete, and the style could use retouching (ribbons or tabs would help!).

Maybe it could be something Netrunner could fork or start from their libraries, not sure if they're willing to fork projects to provide a more "at home" solution than Libre Office though.

When it comes to compatibility. We don't have to lie to ourselves.
It doesn't matter if OpenXML (by MS) or OpenDocument both formats depend heavily on the application using it.
Of couse OpenXMLs standard is so complicated that either even Microsoft was not able to implement it correctly in their Office Suites or just simply did not want it.
Their default settings for fonts and so on also clearly show a picture of "don't you dare try to open this document in another Office Suite".
But honestly take a look for example at the odt. created by OpenOffice and then try to open it in LibreOffice. You will notice that this does not preserve the same layout. And its even more problematic when it comes to opening up odt files in Calligra Words or Abiword.
As LibreOffice and OpenOffice are the most prominent Office Suites in the Free & Open Source world they are used more often despite the fact they create documents that aren't interchangeable with lesser known Office Suites like Calligra.
The whole Office Suite and file compatibility stuff is doomed and always was. Its a shame that we can't create a standard that all Office Suites are able to follow.

So for that matter I don't look to concerned to the file format issue. (as it always was and always will be an issue)
When it comes to the applications itself I am also in favor of the Calligra Suite. It provides a more modern user interface wiithout too much clutter and works clean and fast on a KDE Plasma Desktop.
LibreOffice in contrast has the more classic look and feel and offers some more features. For example you can't compare the Presentation tools Impress and Stage with another. Impress wins this big with a lot more effects and options. (i.e. Presenter Console)
LibreOffice has the ability to save a hybrid file which combines PDF and ODT formats. So that when you send the file to someone that doesn't know how to open odt or does not have any Editor for it you can still see the document with a pdf viewer.
When it comes to exporting stuff LibreOffice is also the winner. It has tons of formats to export to even old obscure ones.

So all in all. Its a matter of taste I would say. LibreOffice is clearly the powerhouse when it comes to classic office features. Calligra is clearly the better integrated modern looking Office Suite that offers the tiny itsy bit more when it comes to flow charts and image creating/editing.

I think, the LibreOffice isn't the worse choice. As far as I can see, it's good to have a working (!) Offincesuite preinstalled at all (I found strange things before, called "Officesuits"), but also I don't know what is the best choice ... so no furthe comment to that from me...

But something weird, I have to admitt, is, that there are several shortcuts and links to the office programs shuffled over the Menüs and so. You shouldn't do that. The officesuite-shortcuts and kinds should be contained in one single >Subdirectory< of the Officedirectory (of the Startmenü) labeled "LibreOffice".

>>"Call it and contain it like what it is, not like a collection which it possibly could be" <<
Please, do not reproduce bad manners. At least not those from M$... [I hate them ]

The raison d'etre of the United States of America, detested of the uber UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....liberal, was "taxation without representation".

IN OTHER WORDS BIG GUBBMINT making a poor woman covered in white chalk pleading for "bread for the poor folk" before a over dictatorial EUROPEAN monarchy.........

The raison d'etre of "the Alamo" was because the Spainish overlords, through the lackey in "cannot be said because of liberal political correctness" a country south of the U. S. of A. increased taxes on .............. Texican made spirits.........above and beyond what any reasonable person, outside of Europe, would think to be......in the presently politically correct parlance"..."fair'....

That has now been reversed, because the "raison d'etre" of the "progressive" is to "progress beyond what was before"...."good or bad".......

The United States of America uber Liberal has to be against everything that allowed the uberliberal of the U.S.of A to exist....... ummm what's up with THAT!!??

So....

YES...............I am FORCED to use LibreOffice..........WHICH I LOVE THE PEOPLE who develop LO.......I LOVE THEM..........no i am not a homophobe or a nothomophobe.....

In the U.S.of. A it should be possible for a HETEROSEXUAL MALE....to say that he "loves" a person, group of people or a thing.......duuh......but noooh...anyway.......... they are doing a GOOD THING.................. A VERY GOOD THING.......

THE LIBRE OFFICE PEOPLE ARE GREAT PEOPLE.........great people........

I AM FORCED TO USE LO TO.............convert from Calligra Suite for some things to

a FORMAT...........

WHICH IS ESPOUSED BY THE UBERLIBERAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES..........

Of the U.S.of A....

Who in their cloistered offices........................

Use a truncated form of MicroSith Office in their HACKINTOSH BY APBLE computers!!!!

WHAT.......

yes...............they put "blinders on"

and on their Hackingosh computers run a form of the former librewhateveoffice so that they can make microsith files.............

WHAT A BUNCH OF LIBERAL hypocritical..........#@!PPola!!

But.........." vive la liberté " !!!

A blankety blank, whatever DVD can hold a huge amount of data.........with all the STUFF that is in a distribution...............

SURELY............SURELY...........SURELY.....................

A distro that "supports"..........nay one say it........RELIES on the GESTALT of KDE........

(7th July 2014, 6:23)AJSlye Wrote: Personally, I say leave an Office suite out and let the user decide between LibreOffice, OpenOffice, Calligra, or what ever else they prefer, including MS Office under wine.

In my opinion it's inpolite to send someone a docx file. It's like "Hey, you better have MSO installled!". I dont accept any official documents in docx formats. Installing some software on demand service as default office suite would be the end of Netrunner (Richard Stallman incomin XD)!

4th April 2016, 5:14 Edited(This post was last modified: 4th April 2016, 5:16 by woodsmoke.)

Crypto-goblin

I agree completely! For Linux people etc.

However, the college only uses Microsith and I have to work thereat.

However, a really ODD thing occured last semester.

I normally produce the text of my slides in Calligra writer and then copy and paste into Libre Office.

Then insert the images etc.

I also lock the slides etc. so that Microsith cannot put the "white slide" in front of a bunch of random slides and say that the presentation was somehow corrupted and had to "repair it'. and to get it repaired when one clicks the linky one is sent to a "web front" that has a program that one PAYS for to "repair the slides" when it acutally just removes the script that is found in the xml header.

However, back to the point....

What is really curious is that....if one keeps the length of sentences really, as in really, short in the slide and uses a small font and sticks with "arial". AND locks the slides, images and the whole presentation.

Microsith will run it! WOAH!

lol

I only had WPS office on a machine for a while and uninstalled when I found from where it originate, but it is the best at what it does on the android, and I can send a file to the machine through KDE connect and then it opens nicely in Calligra or LO.

Most people need an office suite, or at least the word processor, so I suggest staying with Libre Office. I did try Caligra once, some years ago, and it did not do all I needed it to do. Libre Office does a good job for me, and is easier to use than the current MS Office. Libre Office opens .docx but MS Office claims that .odt from Libre Office is corrupt, but opens it anyway. Crazy.